Owari
by K'Ranna
Summary: Warning: spoilers. Some insight into what was going through Chapel’s mind when he died -- why he chose to rise up against Knives when he did, and why he gave his life for a failed attempt at revenge. R&R, please!


**Owari**

Smotilator

Disclaimer: Trigun, its world, and all its characters do not belong to me, nor do I lay claim to anything but this story itself. Everything else belongs to… well, those who own Trigun. ~.~ Lucky bastards.

Authoress notes: I've been watching a lot of anime lately, so of course Trigun has been reviewed. It's my favourite anime, after all, isn't it? I cried like a baby during Wolfwood's death, but something about Chapel dying in a failed attempt to avenge his pupil really touched me. He died with a purpose in mind, but that purpose was destroyed just as he was, and although I won't deny that Chapel was an evil bastard, I do feel sorry for him, somewhat. So… it's late at night (or early in the morning, depending on how you see these things), so there might be a few spelling and grammatical errors. Well actually, I know there are a few grammatical errors, but those are there for effect. :P So there. I'm not completely inept. The title, 'Owari', means The End. Fitting, really. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. :) It's possible this will be the first in a series of short stories. ^.^; Please R&R – you know it's the only way to get me to write more. :P

I didn't know I could still feel. Didn't know I still cared. And yet… and yet, when my finger tightened around the trigger and the gunshots rang in the air, I felt his agony as if it were my own.

I had seen him grow from a small boy. He was strong-willed then, and stronger now. How he could trust me enough to turn his back on me while my guns were still in my hands was beyond me. I had raised him to kill, but this was not the boy I had raised.

All because of _him_. Vash the Stampede. He was the one who changed my boy. He was the one behind what happened. Him, yes, and… another. Another who softened a killer's smile and tamed a wild beast. A woman? Yes. My boy is not a boy any longer; he is a man.

I did not want to give in. I tried so hard not to pull the trigger, but I failed. Weaker-willed than the man I shot, then, weaker by far. Ah, but he had truly grown. I am so proud of what he was… and so ashamed of what I am.

And so I stand here. This is not my redemption, for my sins weigh heavily upon my soul. I will go to hell when I die, but I will take that bastard with me.

Legato, you are mine.

Ah, see here. His carriage stops before me and he steps out, as placid as ever he was. His golden eyes are aloof as he examines me, judging me – and finding me wanting, no doubt. No matter. I will show him.

"Oh, good," he murmurs, ever so softly – but that silky voice reaches me as easily as if he had shouted. "Just who I wanted to see. You don't like it, do you? You don't like how I forced you to shoot Nicholas D. Wolfwood dead."

He is so arrogant. So calm. That he would dare say my pupil's name, that he would dare foul it… I pull the latch on my gun and swing both pieces around me. With the ease of many years of practise and death, I aim my gun at him and tighten my grip… and stop.

Fuck.

Pain courses through me as he bends me back as easily as a puppet. He really is a bastard, Legato. Listen to him now – "Your scene is concluded." Days ago, I would not have questioned him. Days ago, were he to say the same thing, I would have died. Now…

The door behind me rumbles, opening to reveal Knives. My master; nay, my former master. He looks down at me, face expressionless. It is how he always is, Knives. Apathetic or cruelly amused; those are his only two emotions. I wonder how long it has been since he has felt true emotions. I wonder how long since he found happiness in something other than another's pain.

He is asking me something. He is asking why I am here. Yet I know he understands me as well as I do myself. He knows very well why I am here. I answer him anyway, though I know he will refute me. Ah, yes, see? How well I have learned my lessons, how well I can judge him now. Does he know? No doubt.

The end is coming. I can see it in his eyes. He has no use for me, and so he will dispose of me. I have always known that this day would come, though I did not think I would ever defy him. But I will defy him, won't I?

"The cornered mouse will attack the cat!" I rasp.

A glib line slips from his lips. He has always been good with words. Very well. I will die with nothing more to say to him.

A ball of pure dark power appears before me. I am afraid, I must admit. Just a little bit. This is my destiny, but there is still a trace of fear left in me. Call it human instinct if you will. It is what Knives believes.

"This is the ravine between life and death." Knives' cold voice reaches me through the static of his magic. The darkness lowers itself upon me, and I gasp in pain.

Ah, the pain. It is eating me alive. This hole of power is devouring me, destroying my body ever so slowly. It is what Knives wants, is it not? For me to feel the pain of my existence before my life is snuffed out. Oh, the pain!

"That's right. That is your essence… the essence of the animals called Homo sapiens."

These are my last moments, I know. I search my mind for something to say and find myself wanting so badly to call out my Lord's name. I want so badly to beg his forgiveness for all the agony I have caused. I try, truly I do, but nothing escapes my lips but a strangled gasp. I cannot even scream now, it hurts so much. So this is how it ends. I have no one, not even my God to call to.

This… is how it ends.

_Owari._


End file.
